This upcoming Tuesday, a unique art form will be performed in Wilhoit Theater. Drury Allies is hosting their annual Drag Show, and this year they are partnering with the theater honors society, Alpha Psi Omega. The production will be top notch this year, and include stage lighting and makeup done by members of Drury’s theater program.

At the drag show, Drury students will dress up in drag and give individual performances. The show will also include a group performance, and other fun performances throughout the night.

Junior Tulley Beard, who is helping coordinate the drag show, explained what drag is for those that might now know what drag is. “It’s usually a gender bent performance,” she explained. Male-identified people will dress up in hyper feminine outfits and female-identified people will dress up in hyper masculine ones.

“Drag is an opportunity to see that gender is a performance that people do every day,” said Alanis Ballester, a sophomore who is performing. “Drag is a way of talking about that.” The portrayal of hyper femininity and masculinity provide a commentary about how people perform gender in their everyday lives.

Drag queens and kings will design their look, from makeup to outfit and wig, as well as choose their song to perform. “It is not necessarily viewed as an art by most of the population, but if you look at all of the work that goes into it and the performance aspect, it really is an art,” Beard said.

Drag also has a rich history in the movement for LGBTQ+ rights. “It’s drag queens that paved the way for queer rights and queer representation,” explained Ballester. At crucial moments in the movement for equality, drag has always provided an artistic expression for the community, and Drury Allies is proud to share that with the rest of the Drury community.

This year, the show is a fundraiser for The GLO Center’s youth group, GALAGXY. GALAGXY is a support group for teenagers in the LGBTQ+ community. This group has weekly meetings, and the donations will support these teens so they can continue planning meetings and activities.

Allies will be selling tickets for $3 for the show at the commons during lunch and dinner on Friday and Monday, as well as during lunch on Tuesday. You can also buy your tickets at the door, but they will be $5 there.

In addition to tickets, you’ll also be able to purchase “Drag Dollars.” Typically at a drag performance, the performers earn money through tips. Rather than giving them actual money to make the event more student-budget friendly, you can purchase “Drag Dollars” to give to your favorite performers. So show up so you can vote for your friends for the best performer!

“If you’re planning on attending and you don’t know what to expect, come with an open mind,” said Beard. The participants will have worked hard to put on a quality performance, and the production will be excellent.

The show is next Tuesday, March 7, at 8:30 p.m. Come and support your fellow Drury students, and learn about an art form that you might not already be aware of. There will be a Snapchat filter for the event, so you definitely won’t want to miss out.

“When I’m in drag, even though I’m playing a male persona, it’s not as if it isn’t me. It is me, you’re just seeing a different part,” said Ballester.